The Barcelona region continues to be an exciting hub of activity for 3D printing, where BCN3D Technologies have unveiled the BCN3D Moveo; a open source 3D printed robot arm with 5 axis of movement, powered by Arduino micro-controllers and software.

The BCN3D Moveo was designed and developed in close collaboration with the Department of Education at the Generalitat of Catalonia. To this end, it’s not available as a commercial product.

Instead, all of the CAD designs, STL files, firmware, bill of materials and supporting documentation for the robot arm are available to view, download and modify on their Github repository (with everything placed under a General Public Licence).

ALL3DP had a sneak preview of the arm at the BCN3D offices earlier this summer, but we were sworn to secrecy until the official reveal. The final result is simply fantastic.

Check out the story of its development in the video below.

BCN3D Moveo is a Powerful Limb of Learning

The genesis of the BCN3D Moveo first began more than a year ago, when the Department of Education wanted to kickstart a low cost project for students and interns that could take in a wide variety of disciplines; mechanical design, robotics, industrial programming, and more.

The Department approached BCN3D Technologies for suggestions, and an open source 3D printed robot arm was identified as the ideal basis for the project.

The guiding parameters were that it should be easy to build, modify, and reproduce; used standard tools in its construction; and the materials were low cost.

Once the BCN3D Moveo was designed and manufactured, the last phase of the project was for BCN3D Technologies to host a series of workshops for assembly and fine-tuning with 15 educational institutions around the Catalonia region.

Today, these institutions already have the BCN3D Moveo installed in their classrooms and workshops, supported with a structured program of learning adopted by students for the course of an academic term.

Of course, the fun of this project is not just limited to students in Catalonia. Makers of all stripes are invited to build a BCN3D Moveo arm of their own, and to share their work on social media platforms using the hashtag #BCN3DMoveo.